Wednesday, April 20, 2011

If you can donate, $1, $0.50, $0.25, whatever, please do. It's really easy if you have paypal - just sign in, enter amount, and BAM it's done. 100yen=$1.25USD as of today. I know people are constantly asking for your money. I know. But, they truly need the help. Truly. They are doing serious work. If you don't have the means to donate, please try to spread the word to your friends who are animal lovers or pet guardians. I'm just trying to spread the word. Don't take this as anything else. http://arkbark.net

From an email from ARK (to clarify, they didn't email me to solicit $. They emailed me as an update b/c I've been donating to them, and they understand that when people give them $ they want to see how it's spent and where it's going, what they're doing.. making sure they're not using the $ to go to Disneyland..) :

Boys also returned for a break, they have been on the go without a day off for over a week now.They brought back photos, some very distressing; small dog left in cage which the owner had asked them to pick up, already dead of starvation; others dead on chains, their bodies just skin stretched over bones showing they died of starvation, cats and dogs dead in the road, some hit by rescue vehicles. There are estimated to be 2000 evacuation centres in Fukushima prefecture, some huge gymnasiums, others smaller, like temples or private facilities. Now that the school year has started, evacuees have to move out of schools to other evacuation places. Most pets are not allowed in any of these so people keep them tied to cars or in cars. This will be dangerous as the weather gets warmer.

When talking to evacuees about why they haven't been back to rescue their pets they answer as follows:

*many people have no transport; they were bused to the evacuation centres by the authorities. Even if they have a car, they have no petrol. There is no public transport.

* When they were evacuated, they thought it would only be for a couple of days so they left their pets with enough food and water for that time.

* they are constantly told of the dangers of radiation and prevented from going back home. This is of course a real fear because nobody knows how much radiation is in the air or on the ground.

After the boys rescued animals, they and the animals had to be checked for radiation. To make sure that animals were free of radiation, the boys shampooed and washed any that were especially dirty before sending them to Osaka.

In yesterday's update I said that the period of danger from radiation which prevents people from being able to return home, even though their homes are not damaged, would be 6 - 9 months, this is unlikely. People are now predicting one year or two before it is safe to go back and many places will become uninhabitable for ever.

How to donate: We have two ways to donate, the first being Paypal, if you follow the linkfrom the English http://arkbark.net site it will take you to Paypal in English. Anotheroption would be International Postal Money Order sent to:

595 Noma Ohara, Nose-choToyono-gun, Osaka-fu 563-0131Japan

Animals are so special, so precious. They are our children too, and they need our love and protection.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

I watched this vid today and was soo excited! You see, I have a bag full of unused lipsticks, mostly frosty pinks, which look horrid on the lips. But after watching this vid I realized they wouldn't go to waste b/c they can double as blushes!

A major issue with blushes for me is that they tend to pull red. Even the R&R lilac looking blush is red on me. The only powder form I've found so far that works is La Femme eyeshadow in Rose Petal (effing amazing. La Femme color range is amazing). Blush colors are pretty limited, but lipsticks come in like 50 bajillion colors. I can't wait to hit up my local NYX shop to look for lilac-pink, super cool toned pink and even blue toned pinks to try on my cheeks :)

Pros of lipstick as blush:*inexpensive (NYX circle l/s are $1.50)*more colors available*easy to toss in purse*wax in the l/s allows it to blend beautifully on foundation*won't emphasize wrinkles

Cons:*can melt in purse on a hot day

Some words on this MUA~If you scour YT for makeup reviews, tips and tricks the way I do, then I'm sure you're tired of 99% of the MUAs doing sponsored reviews and not really sharing anything useful. I stumbled upon Wayne Goss when I was researching Graftobian (fucking amazing, esp considering the price), and from there I couldn't help but watch all of his videos. He's articulate and to the point. Absolutely NO sponsored videos, just his honest opinion and products he likes and doesn't like.

Speaking of Graftobian, if you live in SoCal and like makeup, go to Frends in Studio City. You will shit your pants at the glorious selection of makeup. They carry Ben Nye, Graftobian, La Femme, Kryolan, RCMA.. these are brands that REAL makeup artists use (I'm talking on the set of Real Housewives, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl.. industry folks who KNOW their shit and make a living doing makeup). My sister and I picked up Graftobian glamour HD foundation and La Femme blushes. Out of this world. Seriously. And all those brands are cruelty free. p.p.s. still not styling my tresses hence the lion look. People are so right I feel a big difference.. hair is much softer and healthier after 1 week of not applying heat. Downside is going to work looking a lil crazy and unkempt. Can't win 'em all.

Monday, April 11, 2011

after having a yummy cappuccino (i like it dry double nonfat) at cafe roma in little italy and listening to the sounds of stevie wonder my cherie amour (la la LAA la la la) and the beatles strawberry fields, we wandered up and down Columbus Ave,

to come upon this darling hat shop called Goorin! I think I'm in love with these 2 hats but I felt like such a character...

all kinds of hat from felt w/feathers to fedoras to the panama hat (which is a misnomer). I was surprised by all the locations, didn't realize hat shops like this are so popular! Melrose in LA, Yaletown in Vancouver, Newbury in Boston..

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Saturday, April 9, 2011

If you come to SF, you must stop by the George Lucas digital art center in the Presidio (old military base)! The grounds are gorgeous. And there's a Yoda fountain! There's a breathtaking view of the Palace of Fine Arts. Seriously, the grounds are beautifully manicured and it's just so aesthetically pleasing.If you're not into the cheesy touristy areas and want to find a hidden gem go here.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

My search for a go to salon has ended. Finally. The last place I went was great, but expensive and the ambiance and people weren't quite "me". And, since I've moved I wanted to find a more conveniently located salon.

Simply got my scraggly ends cleaned up, and when I said keep the length, she really kept the length. Hallelujah.

I check the yelp reviews, and see that it's run by young, super trendy, fun, gorgeous girls. These girls look high maintenance, and I just had a feeling that they wouldn't do me wrong. As superficial as that sounds, just as you wouldn't consult an obese cardiologist, you wouldn't get your hair done by a fugly right?